Coast Guard Suspends Search For Crew Member Reported Missing At Sea

The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday announced it suspended the search for a missing crew member in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Seaman Bryan K. Lee, 23, from Rancho Cordova, Calif., was serving aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche when he was reported unaccounted for on Tuesday morning. The Waesche was operating on its routine counter-drug patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean about 300 nautical miles south of Mexico when Lee was reported missing, after last being seen about eight hours earlier.

The cutter “immediately deviated” from its course and launched a “comprehensive” search. The Waesche’s helicopter crew and drone began searching the area, joined by two Customs and Border Protection Dash-8 aircraft, a U.S. Air Force C-130 aircraft, a U.S. Coast Guard C-130 aircraft, and a Mexican Navy offshore patrol vessel and maritime patrol aircraft.

Searchers looked for Lee for nearly 190 hours, covering some 19,000 square nautical miles.

“Our most heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Seaman Lee,” Cmdr. David Stern, search and rescue mission coordinator for Coast Guard District Eleven. “Considering all pertinent factors and available information, we made the difficult decision to suspend the search. This case has been extraordinarily challenging, and the decision to suspend the search pending new information is not an easy choice. Were thankful for the support from our units and partners who searched a significant region of the Pacific Ocean.”